Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1887-01-27
his FAILURE.

.r;;pt l,eiore him, as he said this, and,
Z,2tine his weary head on his hand,
4, looking out upon the street.
lie Wis rborn unto singing" but to-
~ he could not utter what heaven
la bp.athed into his soul, for the
s.,rtben lay sorely upon him. Lately
4 had been so, that when the heart
t,ords ,yere swept by the unseen mas
g. hand, and his soul essayed to sing
h. refrain, the mellow measures
-smblesl forth. only to falter before
he una,S2reciatiye, and the golden
zotes did amid the jeers Of the COW.
&rdly CREATURES of spite.
long lie sat at his desk, consulting
IL over burdened heart. Should he
4 On ami be buffeted by ridicule long
b He did not know; it seemed to be
IL duty 10 row against the tide, but
N, Il wal, hard. Some, he was aware,
<nunted IL strengthening to genius, to
<attls ami endure, and he envied them.
= heliev,d he could battle and do
Zravely--but not alone; he was afraid
s had net the vim to withstand the
{ontrary currents. Those who should
lave held up his hands by words of
<,eoura yenerst stood aloft and looked
Is with unconcern. Others who might
1--we made his world OF thought to
|ud and bloom, passed by on the
*ther side with uplifted eyes, not
beaning TO waste their high night
Is on 81 ruggling aspirant, and there
[rre none ito lend a helping hand.
] All yes; lie would give it up, and
<rite the word failure above the prob
km OF his mission, and leave it I'M
biyed. II would be g hard task Ger.
kinly, to sty to the sweet well-spring
4 song within, ''thus tar, and no far
her. but It would be harder still TO
AVE it.s crystai waters lose their puri
on the rccks of Marah, over which
bey must fow.
] Yes: he weuld wall in this beautiful
bmmcr sea, and grow careless and
,sionless and send his supersensi-
Ire sonlto school to ehecynical prosa-
ID He wotild slip down from the
k,und OF The, ladder to which he had
hung in desr eration; slip down to the
fankness oil the monotonous levels.
No one would disturb him there;
Ia ne believed he must be one Of those
@ho run well for u season only; no
latter, he mould try and forget that
be rose-wresthed gates of the Slorions
knd OF song we're ever ajar for him.
fhyshould be remember?
! He pushed the inoffending manu-
rript, which some busy editor had
1ecIined." tito the open drawer, shut
away FROM his weary sight, and
armed the key in the lock savagely.
Thus he flung the gauntlet into the
kees Of 1.-The Nine" who turned
tide from their chosen singer with
sute sorrow. He fancied now, that
be tide OF his summer sea would new
rise again; hut, there was an infu-
bee, destined to bear upon his dead
5 world. and ssy to the ALBANIAN
he shores, "l,e thou cleft" That lit.
@rift within the lutte" was soon to
mended and the music was once
bore to throh sorth in its enhancing
reetness.
Again he sat at his desk, and the
Manuscript lay before him; but this
fme the sunshine streamed over all;
be fairy rainbows of happy promise
Banned each s;ell-written line, and the
bngs be was BORN to sing were swell
bg in the deer sea tide with an eeho
keeter than ever dreamed OF. What
I'd wrought this magic transforma-
ION,
/ All the glorious sunlight OF appre-
<atiye kindnes.I had broken through
be suIlen canopy suddenly, and iilu-
lined his dreary way: the helping
Spd had been reached out to him,
be had touched those long-silent
Fords; and thy had given back a
nlphony. sweet as the bells OF
eaven. His doubts that had made
in lose the good he might have won,
ere being swept aside by that helping
end; he had neser seen her, but IN his
1ankfulaess he allowed she must be
e one good ANGEL sent to cancel his
Hlure. and helIi him work out the
ohlem OF his mission. A letter lay
bis desk, in which she said: al rec
nizs the happy fact that you are a
pet from the pe-lsal OF your poems,
hich have real; your lines contain
uch merit; please continue and / Twill
Up you"
Blessed wordsi 81 will help you"
hey brought heaven nearer than it
pa been Tor many weary years; he
1ld have fallen down at heriset and
pfshiped her for her timely inspira-
pn, but that was impossible, he
puid do better, however; he would
nsinue and thereby show his graft
Tde, by doing his best. She had not
zen her address, and the post mark
= too dun to he legibla, SO he bad
idea rom which direction his help
IS coming; no matter, if she had
Fn his poems in the past she would
watching for THIN in the future.
a year went by and he found his
wers OF song DEVELOPING, and he be-
TO look forward to the bright fields
the promised good once more. The
cams OF his youth came back now
realization.
The helping hand was with him still.
p. up the heights" she said, "press
PIT on and never falter and / will
Up you" OF the name of his men,
he was not altogether certain; of
residence he was yet ignorant, but
% her heart he was well aequaint-
and he had known for months that
kinship OF his soul rested with her,
hoever she might be.
DID be realize how much he depended
this unseen friend? What If he, by
me stroke OF fortune, should he sep
ated from her, and be obliged to go
way alone7
lie shnddered to think OF it. But
zat allied him; he was becoming in
mated with the fret, easy handwrit-
=, NOstikAh llt .1du fltNtf stcu!
st sounded a little foolish, some
y. Did he really love the soul that
eafhed through the kind letters he
9 received from this unknown cor
9ondent? All, that was a more
1ous question. and came nearer
me than the first.
ne passionate heart OF the poet is
hdieng. He must watch himself,
she, whoever she was, might not
aaescend to return such a deep
otlon of the soul. Perhaps she had
ven imagined he was so weak; per-
Ps she was not heai't-whole either.
6 ne must guard himself from his
a susceptibilities.
nen there came time when she
e him her full address; this was
ssthlng unusual. Doubtless she
sred an answer from him, else why
9 shs done this?
ae would write anyway and thank
At least for all she had done for
q II was her due, and he was glad
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